1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to engines. More particularly, embodiments relate to the use of a rotating bore structure to enhance the efficiency and power of internal combustion engines.
2. Discussion
In the field of internal combustion engines, various attempts may have been made to cost-effectively increase efficiency and power, while reducing carbon emissions and fuel consumption. A particular conventional engine design is the Otto design, which has four cycles (e.g., intake, compress, ignite and exhaust) and may include the familiar V6 and V8 engines widely used in the automotive industry today. Due to inherent limitations of the Otto engine, however, there remains considerable room for improvement.
For example, while power is conventionally taken from only the ignite cycle, the other three cycles (e.g., intake, compress, and exhaust) are typically preparatory to the power stroke. Accordingly, the conventional engine may be required to rotate through two complete revolutions for each single thrust of power, leading to the need for a flywheel assembly to carry it to the next stroke. Moreover, the conventional approach of pushing pistons up and down in a bore (e.g., combustion chamber) can lead to relatively high amounts of friction.
Other efficiency limiting factors may include the momentum of the piston as it travels up and down in the bore. At high engine rpm (revolutions per minute), the energy required to push each piston up, then stop it and pull it down again may cause stress-related failure in the rod that connects the piston to the engine crankshaft. Additionally, when maximum power is available at the piston, it may be applied to the crankshaft at an angle that is near “top dead center”, which can lead to minimal or no rotational energy. In fact, until the crankshaft has rotated forty-five degrees, the power applied to it by the piston may be less than seventy percent of the available foot/pounds of thrust. Therefore, the conventional Otto design may require a minimum of four cylinders, or a cylinder per cycle.
In addition, the valve assembly that allows the fuel-air mixture to enter the combustion chamber and the burned exhaust to exit the chamber can require an excessive amount of energy for the engine to work against the valve springs and cam friction. These additional losses coupled with the aforementioned losses may further limit the efficiency of conventional engine designs.